Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang has stressed the development of the service industry as part of the government's efforts to promote economic restructuring and to accelerate the transformation of its economic development pattern.

Li made his remarks at a meeting focusing on the development and reform of the service industry sponsored by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) on Thursday.

The service industry is not only conducive to expanding job opportunities, but also has a low cost of resources, Li said.

He further called on local authorities to be innovative in using their regulatory systems to shore up the development of the service industry.

Representatives from Shanghai, and provinces of Liaoning, Jiangsu, Hubei and Sichuan explained their experiences in creating service industries.